A Broody Weekend
by angel-death-dealer
Summary: As Charlie and Claire jet out, Jack and Kate are left babysitting Aaron and Alana for a weekend. Its fun for the first ten minutes, then the broody feelings start to kick in. Can they survive the weekend?
1. Denial

"Why are we doing this again?"

"Because Claire and Charlie want a weekend to themselves."

"And Sawyer couldn't do this because..."

"Kate, Sawyer can't babysit all the time. He has his own life now."

"You mean he has Ana Lucia now."

It was like a worst nightmare come true. Claire and Charlie wanted a day to themselves to relax. Sawyer and Ana Lucia were in Vegas, probably getting drunk and married at midnight. Sun and Jin were back in Korea. Hurley and Libby were touring the world together. Rose and Bernard were in England with their children. Sayid was away. In fact, every survivor that Charlie and Claire would trust with Aaron and Alana for a weekend was out of town.

Except Jack and Kate.

Since getting off the island, the two had moved into a house together, still in what Charlie and Hurley referred to as the 'innocent' days of their relationship, where they were still all embarrassed when kissing infront of a crowd and being interrogated, but were still getting right down to business in the bedroom. Now, they were clearly deprived of this for a weekend, as their attention was focused on the two children they would have to look after. Fair enough, they had individually babysat for Aaron a thousand times on the island before, but there was still the blaitent reality that they had been together for only a month officially, but were going to be acting like parents for a weekend, especially with a two month old baby, it was the biggest hint that Claire had ever dropped on them for a godchild.

So now, friday morning, they were patiently awaiting the arrival of the said-children. Kate had just finished breakfast and was laying out on the couch whilst Jack cleared away. She had made the breakfast, so Jack didn't mind clearing up afterwards. Sighing deeply, Kate leaned her head against the armrest.

"Jack, are you sure about this?" She asked for the thousandth time. "I mean, what if something goes wrong, or if they gets sick, or hurt, or if Aaron gets homesick and Alana misses Claire, or if we don't know how to look after them..."

"Kate." Jack laughed, appearing behind her next to the armrest, and placing a kiss on the side of her face. "Everything's going to be fine. The kids are going to stay with us for the weekend, Charlie and Claire will be back, they'll go home with them, and everything will be fine."

She nodded. "If anything goes wrong, I'm blaming you." She told him matter-of-factly.

"I know." He said, kissing her again as the door went. At this point, the doorbell sounded, and Jack stood up. "I'll get it." But she followed him to the door anyway.

Immediately, Aaron jumped to Kate. "Aunty Kate!" He squealed excitedly, wrapping his arms around her mid section, resting his head on his stomach, where he stood to now. Kate hugged him back, having gotten used to the hugs from the little boy who had grown up seeing her pretty much every day of the week. He always loved spending the afternoon with Aunty Kate and Uncle Jack on the island whilst Mommy and Daddy went for a walk. Then he would sit and ask Jack about anything he could, and would race Kate up and down the beach, so that when Charlie and Claire came back that evening, all three would be tired out. Once, they had come back and found Jack and Kate leaning on each other beside the fire, fast asleep, and Aaron curled up between them, also asleep. If ever it had been a time for a camera, that was it.

"Hey, Aaron." She said, and Aaron then hugged Jack, whilst Claire and Charlie stepped into the doorway. "Looking forward to your holiday?"

Claire nodded. "Thanks again for taking the kids."

As she spoke, she handed baby Alana to Kate. She was sleeping at the moment, and luckily, didn't make a fuss as she was passed over. Meanwhile, Charlie was showing Jack how to set up the travel cot for Alana, and giving him the bag of bottles, and calpol medicine for Aaron in case he got sick. Even though he wasn't Aaron's natural father, he was definately as bad for worrying as Claire was over him, if not worse.

"No problem." Kate smiled. "Give me a call when you get there." She said cheerfully.

"I will when I find out where 'there' is." Claire laughed, as Charlie had not told her where they were going away to yet. "Besides, what do you want to know, sceanic qualities, attractiveness of local waiters?" She teased.

"Gossip, of course." Kate said simply.

"Only if I get a full rundown of your and Jack's first weekend away together." Claire compromised.

"We're spending a weekend with your kids, Claire. We're not going to leave you with any now are we." Kate pointed out.

"Trust me, if this weekend doesn't leave you feeling broody, nothing will." Claire told her.

Kate pouted. "What if I don't want to feel broody?"

Claire laughed aloud. "Kate, you do. You've moved in with Jack finally, it's only a matter of time." Kate raised an eyebrow. "Besides, you're a natural." Claire assured her, hugging Kate and then turning back into mother-mode. "Now, remember everything?" She checked.

Now was Kate's turn to laugh. "Yes, we'll be fine." She assured Claire, contradicting herself from her earlier conversation with Jack. "Go. Have fun, and buy me a souvineer."

"Charlie! We're going to miss the flight!" She told him, and the pair said goodbye to the children.

"Have a good time." They said, and then waved the two parents off. Then, as the car disappared around the corner, they closed the door and went into the house.

Jack started to set up the games console for Aaron to play on, whilst Kate, with Alana still in her arms, sat cross-legged on the couch. She just stared at the sleeping baby she held, almost unsure of what to do. There wasn't exactly a lot she could do whilst she was asleep, but she was almost dreading her waking up. What if she screamed? What if they couldn't calm her?

Yet somehow, the weight of the sleeping baby in her arms was almost reassuring, comfortable to her. She felt an overwhelming urge to protect this baby, even thought it wasn't her own. Jack turned back from the console to see Kate softly stroke a finger down the side of Alana's face, almost in curiosity. He smiled at the scene, of Kate with a child in her arms, as she looked so natural.

"Jack-Jack! I wanna play this one!" Aaron told him, startling him out of his thoughts.

"Alright, kiddo." He said, inserting the same racing game that he played every time that he came around. It would keep him amused for hours no doubt, enough time for them to get Alana fed and to prepare lunch for them all, and also to figure out a plan of action for the afternoon.

Jack set the game up on an easy setting for him, and then went over to Kate. She was in some kind of trance, and didn't notice that he had appeared beside her.

"And you worried?" He asked, and she lifted her head and smiled at him.

"It's strange." She said, leaning back against the rest of the couch, but Jack saw how tenderly she moved so that she didn't risk upsetting the baby. "I kinda don't mind anymore."

"Claire was right." He said. She raised an eyebrow at him. "You're getting broody."

Kate gave him a shocked look. "You heard that?"

"Yes I heard that, she said it loud enough." He grinned. "Besides, I don't hear you denying it."

She blinked at him. "I am denying it."

"Go on then, deny it. Say 'I am in no way at all feeling maternal holding this baby', and you can't smile when you say it." He challenged.

"I am in no way at all feeling maternal holding this baby." She said, managing to keep her face straight, only a small gurgle from Alana in her arms brought an immediate soft smile to her face.

"Gotcha." Jack murmered.

"What?" She asked, looking up from where she was resisting the temptating to coo at the baby.

"You smiled." He stated simply.

"So?"

"Thats the deal of denial. You can't smile, otherwise you lied about the statement." He looked down at Alana, and gently stroked her little nose. "Which means you do want one of these and you're just ashamed to admit that you're getting broody." He teased.

"I'm not getting broody." She insisted, then noticed that Aaron had moved so that he was sitting three inches away from the television. "Aaron, sit back a bit, honey, you'll give yourself a headache that close." She told him, and then watched as he shuffled halfway back to the couch they sat on. She turned back to see that Jack had a strange smile on his face, like he had won a bet of fifty dollars from Sawyer. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing." He said innocently, clearly lying, and leaned back with his arm around her shoulders.

"Liar. Tell me." She pried.

"You insist that you're not getting broody, and then tell Aaron to move back from the TV." He pointed out. "I think I know why you're not getting broody." He said, with an exaggurated look of enlightenment.

"Why?"

"Because you already are broody."

Kate rolled her eyes at him, and then decided to play him at his own game. "I think you're getting broody." She mused aloud.

"Me?"

"Yes, you." She nodded. "You're just desperate to have a miniature version of yourself running around causing trouble."

He smirked. "No child of mine could ever cause trouble." He assumed.

"Jack..." She smirked herself, and stared at her. She grinned cutely. "You didn't deny it."

"What-"

"Ha!" She exclaimed, pointing at him. "You can't deny it. You want a baby of your own!"

At that moment, Alana chose to wake up. As she cried in Kate's arms, Kate immediately began to rock her, whispering to her until she calmed down and fell back asleep. Jack watched all the time with a smile. He watched the smile on her face that was a unique one, one that he couldn't bring to her face except with one thing. Something that she craved, yet wouldn't admit to.

He spoke softly, and seriously. "You want one too, don't you, Kate?" He said to her, and she locked eyes with him. She didn't need to answer, as her eyes spoke volumes, and at that exact moment, she wished they'd shut up.

"Let's concentrate on getting this one through the weekend first, yeah?" She suggested. "Cause if we can't survive a weekend, how are we going to survive a lifetime?"

She stood up to get some milk for Alana, and Jack called her back.

"Kate." She turned in the doorway. "When you're ready." He told her. She gave him a smile, and went back into the kitchen.

* * *

A/N: So they're both feeling broody...this should make for an interesting conversation. 


	2. We Could Do This

CHAPTER 2

Later that evening, after Aaron had eaten some chicken sticks and french fries for dinner that Kate had cooked him, the two children went to bed, and seeing as Jack and Kate were so drained as well, they went to watch a movie in bed together. Aaron was sleeping in the spare room beside theirs, knowing that if he needed anything he could go into them, and Alana's carry-cot was now in Jack and Kate's room beside the bed while she slept soundly. Jack put on a movie that he and Kate had been meaning to watch for a while now, but had never gotten around to it, but neither were really paying attention to the movie. Both were thinking back to the conversation that had occured earlier about children of their own, yet they both stared at the television to disguise this from the other.

About halfway through, the film, Alana became grizzly, and Kate got up to tend to her. After changing her daiper, she continued to walk around the room, talking randomly to her and calming her down until once again. Finally, she became drowsy again, happy with being clean and dry, as well as getting attention from someone, and Kate brought her over to the bed with her, laying back down beside Jack, and lying Alana on her chest. The little girl easily became comfortable, as did Kate, and lay there, listening carefully to Kate's heartbeat, which worked as a soothing rhythm to convince her to sleep again. Yet she lay there, almost amazed by it. Smiling at the baffled look on her face, this movement didn't go unnoticed by Jack, who turned away from the television, laying on his side to face Kate and Alana.

Kate was running small circles on Alana's back, knowing from past experiences at Claire's that it helped her to sleep, and Jack smiled at her.

"You're good with her." He said quietly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful child. Kate simply smiled in response. "It's weird to see you holding a baby." He commented aloud.

Kate's smile dropped a fraction as she looked at him. "Strange?"

"Yeah..." He trailed off. "It looks...right...you know." He said, bringing his own hand to stroke Alana's head. "Natural."

"I guess it is nice." She mused. "I suppose having someone that you can love and protect as your own has to be special, doesn't it?"

Jack nodded. "You've thought about this before, haven't you?" He realised.

"Doesn't every girl?" She reminded him. "I mean, I never thought I would be a mother, and then when Claire had Aaron, and I looked after him for the first time, it made me wonder." She said.

"What about?"

"I wondered why I never considered it. I mean, being on the run, it wasn't something that was an option. It was dangerous enough for me, let alone a baby, but seeing Claire so happy with Aaron, it made me wonder whether I'd ever be that happy." She mused, looking at Alana now, almost avoiding Jack's eyes as she did whenever she spoke about the past. "Then we kissed, and I was finally experiencing happiness again."

"But it wasn't that happiness that Claire had." Jack finished for her.

Kate didn't confirm that, but she carried on anyway. "We were both so happy, and then at the same time, it was completely different. I was happy because I was in love, and Claire was happy because she had a child that depended on her, that knew her to be his mother, that she automatically had a bond with. Not that we didn't have a bond, of course." She laughed.

Jack grinned, and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Kate, I meant what I said." He told her. "If this is what you want, then we can do it."

"Are you sure that it isn't too soon?" She checked.

Jack shrugged. "It depends on what you mean by our time together." He pointed out. "Officially, we've been together for a little over month. We've been living together for three months. We've been flirting for four years." He added up. "And judging from what actually happened to bring us from flatmates to a relationship, and also what happened between us on the island on more on one occassion," She grinned at the memory, "We may as well have been together for four years, I suppose."

She laughed. "I guess you're right."

"Besides, it's not about time." Jack reminded. "It's about whether or not we feel ready for it."

"Do we?" Kate asked him, looking him in the eye. Jack leaned down, unable to resist her, and kissed her fully. "That, Dr Shephard, is not a valid answer." She said unfairly.

"Kate," He said, smiling. "I love you."

"I love you too." She replied.

"There's my point." He nodded. "We love each other, and we could give that love to a child easily."

"Jack, we'd need that love to _create _the child in the first place." She pointed out.

"Exactly." He agreed, then seemed to go off into a world of his own.

"Earth to Jack!"

"Sorry, I was just thinking about how much I like your thinking." He said, snapping back to reality.

"Get your mind out of the gutter Jack, there's little ears around." Kate told him, indicating to Alana.

"All I'm saying is," He began, "I think we could do this."

Kate nodded, smiling down at the baby who was now fast asleep from her rhythmic circles on her back. "She's asleep." She whispered, and looked at Jack. "I guess we really could do this." She mused.

"Well, you never know until you try." He shrugged, and they both laughed. Jack looked back at the television. "Do you actually know anything that's going on in this film?"

"Absolutely not." She laughed.

Jack kissed her again. "Come on, let's put this angel down and get some sleep before she wakes up again."

A/N: So, they're going for it. What next?


	3. Men Just Need Persuasion

**Chapter 3:**

The next time Kate awoke, there was a sound of weak gurgles from across the room. She opened her eyes to see that the room was now filled with light. Jack stood at the foot of the bed, pacing up and down slowly whilst he fed Alana a bottle. She smiled at the sight of Jack carrying a baby around, and remembered their talk last night. She guessed that from that, it was clearly official that they were trying for children, and while the thought sounded fun, the overwhelming responsibility soon came crashing down on her when she realised all that would need to be sacrificed. Although, surely the feel of a baby inside her, along with the joy of watching them grow up, would be enough payment for what they would give up for this child. The thought that in a years time she may be watching Jack pacing at the end of the bed with their own child filled her with a strange warmth inside that made her smile.

"Jack! Aunty Kate's awake!"

Kate rolled over to see Aaron sitting in the bed beside her, watching the television which was turned down low. She smiled at him.

"Morning, honey." She said, her voice thick with sleep and sat up beside him. "What are we watching?"

"Power rangers." He answered, pointing at the characters on the screen. He had fallen in love with the programme after Walt had introduced it to him when they first reached Sydney. Since then, every time he heard the theme song and the over-exagurated 'pows' and 'whacks' of the fighting, he would zone of into his own world and become entranced by it.

Jack came over and sat on the other side of Aaron, leaning over his head to give Kate a good morning kiss. "Mmm...good morning to you, too." Kate smiled, Jack always gave her a good start to the day. Sometimes he even gave her a great start to the day. "She Ok?" She asked, looking over Aaron's head at Alana, who was looking around her with great interest as she drank the milk greedily.

"Awake and kicking." Jack grinned.

"I didn't hear her during the night." Kate realised. "Did she wake up?"

Jack shook his head, he was a light sleeper, and would have heard Alana for sure if she had woken up. "No, she slept straight through the night. I woke up about half an hour ago when Aaron came in, and then she woke up when she was hungry." He told her.

Kate's eyebrows raised. Claire hadn't said that she was sleeping through the night already. She leaned over, and tickled the little girls chin as she finished the bottle. "That's cause she's a good girl...a hungry good girl." She laughed. "Did Claire call yet?" She asked.

Jack shook his head. "No one's called." At that moment, the phone beside Kate began to ring, and letting out a laugh to herself at the coincidence of it.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Kate!" The excited voice was Claire, as she had guessed. "I'm in London!"

"London?" She asked, looking at Jack for a moment. He looked up with raised eyebrows.

"I know! London!" Claire had always wanted to go to London. "How's the kids?"

"Brilliant...you didn't say that Alana slept through the night." She told her.

"She slept through!" Kate laughed as she heard Claire cover the phone to tell Charlie this, hearing him mutter "bloody typical" in reply.

"He's right, we leave her for one night, and she decided to sleep through. You must have the magic touch." Kate rolled her eyes at this, and Claire continued on. "How's Aaron?"

"He's fine. Aaron, want to talk to Mum?"

Aaron took the phone, and answered monotonously as he kept his gazed on the television. "Hi Mom...yeah...yeah...yeah I'm having fun. I like staying here...Power rangers...I dunno...yeah. Bye Mom!" He handed the phone back to Kate, and went back to his Power Rangers without a care in the world.

"Claire?"

"Yeah."

"Don't worry, he's just transfixed by the TV." Kate assured me.

"I know, since we got back, thats the most conversation I've had out of him since he's discovered television." Kate laughed. "So, are you feeling broody yet?"

"How's London?" She asked, changing the subject swiftly. Jack looked up and smiled at the famous changing-the-subject voice he knew from Kate. He knew exactly what they were talking about as well.

"Are you broody?"

"How's London?"

"You are, aren't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Kate said innocently.

Jack took the phone off of Kate and spoke to Claire. "Hey Claire." He said, smiling at Kate as he passed her Alana's empty bottle. Kate took Alana and began to burp her. "Yeah, everything's fine...oh yeah?...really...is Kate feeling broody? That's an interesting question..." Kate looked up at Jack and shook her head, signalling for him not to say a word. Jack grinned, winking at her. "...Oh yeah, she's broody." He told her.

"Jack! Don't tell her that! She'll be taking me baby shopping next week!"

Jack placed the handset against his chest, checked that Aaron wasn't listening in, and then muttered to her, "With my plans for you after the kids are back at Claire's, she's going to need to." He told her, going back to his conversation with Claire and watching her face turn a nice shade of red that only he could cause. He grinned to himself. "Yes, I'm sure you can be Aunty Claire..." He laughed, "Yes, I'm sure you can take her shopping, No, we won't be having a girl, we'll be having a boy." Kate raised her eyebrow, challenging this, Jack noticed this. "...And from the look that Kate's giving me right now, we're clearly going to argue about this a lot." He laughed. "Ok, Claire, I'll see you later, have fun, bye."

He hung up the phone.

"So, A boy?" Kate challenged.

"A boy." He nodded.

"Not a girl?"

"Not a girl."

Kate grinned, and after Alana had given a small burb, Kate held the little baby up to her face, so that Jack could see her clearly. "You mean, not a lovely, adorable, sweet, innocent little baby girl like this?" She teased, giving him the puppy dog eyes.

Jack tried to hold strong, and for a while, he did, until somehow, Alana managed to give him puppy dog eyes as well. "Alright, you win." He said, waving it off. "Just...enough with the guilt eyes."

"Why, Jack, I don't know what you're talking about." She said, and settled Alana in her arms. "Let that be the first lesson I give you, honey," She said to the baby. "Men just need a little persuasion."

"Persuasion?" Jack asked. "That wasn't persuasion that was a guilt trip." He said unfairly.

"And as soon as Claire collects the children, you'll understand what I mean by persuasion." She told him simply. Looking up to see the far off look in his eyes at that statement. Sometimes, he was worse than a teenage boy. "Now, come on, let's start breakfast."

* * *

Aaron decided that he wanted to help Kate in the kitchen making breakfast, and the two of them pranced around the kitchen listening to a CD as they were doing so. Both of them were singing along to it because it was a favourite of both Kate, and Aaron, who had to listen to it whenever he was around their house. Jack was sitting on the floor in the lounge, with his legs open, and Alana laying on her back between them whilst they both played with her toys. He enjoyed getting that rewarding squeal of a giggle of out her from it and the faces he was pulling. He kept on laughing himself, especially when he caught glimpses of the other two in the kitchen.

He looked at the little girl curiously, and she gave him a matching look back. "What do you think, sweetie?" He asked her quietly, teasing her with one of the toys. "Do you think we should get you a little cousin?"

Alana giggle happily again, clapping her hands.

"I guess that's a yes, huh?" He laughed back.

Eventually they announced that breakfast was ready, and Jack lifted Alana up and took her into the kitchen. Aaron was already sitting up at the table, eating his bacon and scrambled eggs hungrily. Jack sat down beside him, whilst Kate settled Alana into the high chair beside him so she could eat her own.

"Uncle Jack?" Aaron asked about halfway through. Jack and Kate had already finished theirs and were just waiting for him, and playing with Alana.

"Yeah?"

"Can we go to the park today?"

Jack looked at Kate, who nodded, as they didn't have anything planned. "Yeah, we can go to the park today." He told Aaron who grinned. "How about we go swimming first, then take lunch to the park with us?" He added on.

Claire had packed the kids swimming things deliberately so that they could surprise Aaron with swimming. Charlie had taught him to swim with armbands a few weeks ago, and since then, he had been itching to go again. Alana would be perfectly content with her inflatable holder which floated in the water, as long as someone was watching her, and she was happy to splash about with whoever that was in the water with her.

"YEAH!" Aaron cried out when Jack suggested swimming. "Can we go on the slide?"

"We can go on the slide." Jack told him.

"And in the deep end?" Jack raised an eyebrow at him, challenging him. "I won't jump in." He promised. "I'll swim from the shallow end."

"Ok then."

"Then can we go in the rapids."

"Only the little rapids." Jack said, almost protectively, which didn't escape Kate's notice. She still wanted payback for yesterday with the 'broody' discussion.

"Why?" Aaron whined. "I wanna go in the big ones!"

"You can't go on the big ones with armbands on." Jack reminded him. "And you're not tall enough yet." He ruffled his hair, which Aaron shook back into place straight after.

"When will I be tall enough?" He complained.

"One day." Jack assured him. "Then we'll go on the big rapids."

Aaron seemed content with this, and went back to his breakfast. When he had finished, he started up talking again. "Aunty Kate, You're coming swimming as well, right?"

Kate nodded, she loved swimming as well. "Course I am, honey." She said with a smile. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Aaron nodded innocently. "That's good, 'cause Uncle Jack will like that." He said.

"Will I?" Jack asked teasingly.

"Yeah." Aaron said surely. "Cause my Daddy said that you'd do anything to see Aunty Kate wear skimpy clothing."

Kate chocked a little on her coffee, and Jack flushed bright red, immediately busying himself with clearing up the plates.


	4. What Skimpy Clothing Reveals

**Chapter 4:**

They didn't get back until late that evening. When Jack pulled the car into the driveway, the sun was setting in the crimson sky behind them, casting orange shadows over all of their tired faces. They had a long morning in the pool, in which Jack discovered that Charlie had said the truth to Aaron - he _did _like to see Kate wear skimpy clothing. As he played with Aaron in the deeper end of the pool, he glanced over from time to time to see Kate playing with Alana in the shallows of the pool in her inflatable. And, of course, to check her out in a bikini. He had to admit that there was definately something comforting about seeing her with a baby, laughing away happily, and as she stood up straight, the water coming just to her hips, he saw that there was a fullness to her stomach that hadn't been there before. Just as he stared, starting to wonder, Aaron stole his attention.

"Jack-Jack! Look at me!" He said, as he jumped in off the edge. Jack panicked for a minute, because beforehand he had been catching the boy before he lept in, but this time there was no time to. However, Jack's fears were eased when Aaron's armbands prevented him from going underwater, but instead sprayed water all over Jack's face.

Aaron giggled. "Sorry, Jack." He laughed, clearly not sorry at all. The chlorine stung at Jack's eyes, and he knew that he was going to rub them sore later, and so he didn't rub them now. He heard another laughter, and looked further down at Kate, who was laughing at the pair as well. He caught her gaze, and gave her a look that told her she was going to pay for laughing at him, and she challenged him back with it.

Aaron clambered onto his back, but it felt lighten than air because the water made him as light as a feather. He looked at Aaron's hands around his neck. "Look at you, all wrinkly." He laughed.

"And yours." Aaron said, pointing to Jack's hands. "Jack? What did my Daddy say when he was talking about Aunty Kate in a bikini?" He asked curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"He said that you liked to look at Aunty Kate in skimpy clothing." Aaron said. "Why do boys like girls in bikinis?"

Jack knew that this wasn't a conversation that he wanted to have with his friend's four-year-old, so he did the most adult thing he could think of. "Why don't you ask your Dad that when you go home?" He said, figuring that Charlie got him into his mess, and he could get himself out of it.

"Okay." Aaron surrendered. "But _do _you like looking at Aunty Kate in her bikini?" He asked.

Jack went red, and bit his lip. Aaron laughed at this. "Don't tell Aunty Kate." Jack said.

"Why?"

"Because if you do, then she might not ever wear one again." He explained.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Aaron asked.

"No." Jack countered. Aaron looked at him strangely. "You'll understand when you get older." Jack told him.

Aaron nodded. "Yeah, Daddy says that too." He said sadly, and Jack laughed, ruffling his hair.

"Come on, wrinkles, I'll race you back to Kate."

The race between them was close, because Jack let Aaron win, and when they got over to Kate and Alana, Aaron floated along side Kate.

"Aunty Kate! Did you see me jump in all by myself?" He asked excitedly.

"Sure did." She grinned. "That was a pretty high jump as well."

"Yeah, I splashed Jack." He said proudly.

Kate grinned again, liking the way that the water was shining off of Jack's chest. Maybe they should go swimming more often. In fact...maybe they should get a swimming pool in the back yard. Whilst she admired Jack, he was also admiring her, discreetly looking at her stomach, but where she had waded further into the water with Alana, he couldn't see anything clearly.

"What do you say we head out for some lunch?" Kate proposed, and Aaron, who had worked up quite an appetite, nodded eagerly.

They started to get out of the pool, and as Jack climbed up the steps, he noticed ahead of him Kate standing in the shower area with Aaron, making sure that he washed his hair. She was holding Alana in a towel against her, but when she held the baby out to wrap the towel more securely, he could clearly see a slight curve on her stomach. He stood there for a moment, a thousand possibilities running through his head, and he realised that her diet hadn't changed, so she shouldn't be gaining weight because of that. Then it hit him.

"Jack?" She asked, bringing him back to the present. "Can you come hold Alana while I was my hair?"

He went over to her, taking the baby from her whilst she washed her hair under the shower, also leaning over and helping Aaron to rinse the rest from his. She noticed that Jack was looking at her with a soft smile. "What are you staring at?" She asked playfully.

He grinned shyly at being caught out. "Just checking you out." He told her, and she smiled at the memory that had occured only a few days of being on the island.

* * *

After they had dried and dressed, Jack, Kate and the kids left the pool for the car. All of their stomach's were rumbling from the three hours in the pool, and they drove to the park nearby so that they could eat the picnic lunch that they had prepared before they left. Aaron sat eating his sandwiches with Kate whilst Jack fed Alana a bottle. They sat together, chatting about nothing in particular, and then-

"Jack Shephard?"

Jack looked up from where they were sitting to see his old friend standing beside their blanket.

"Mark?" He asked grinning. "Oh my god."

"How are you doing?" Mark asked.

"Fantastic, you?"

"Same." Mark sat down at the edge of the blanket. "Woah, man, look at you. I leave you alone for four years and you get settled down straight away." Mark laughed.

"Oh, no, we're babysitting." Kate intervened with a nervous laugh. "They're not ours."

"Ah, so there's an 'us' then," Mark, said raising his eyebrows at Jack.

Jack laughed. "Mark, this is Kate, and Kate, this is Mark Silverman, he's been my best friend since I was a kid."

Mark shook Kate's hand, and then saw Aaron looking at him curiously. "Hey, little man, I'm Mark."

"I'm Aaron." Aaron said.

"Nice to meet you, Aaron." Mark said.

"I'm staying at Aunty Kate and Uncle Jack's house." He said proudly.

"Is that your sister?" He asked, nodding towards the baby in Jack's arms.

"Yeh, her names Alana." He said, and then Mark turned back to Jack.

"You know, when I first looked over here, I thought they were yours." He said.

"You did?" Jack laughed, as Alana finished her bottle and he set it down on the ground, leaning the little girl up against his shoulder to burp her.

"Yeah, you guys actually look like a family." Mark told them, and Jack and Kate shared amused looks. Mark grinned at them, and then jumped up to his feet. "Well, it's been good seeing you all, but I've gotta get home." He said. "We'll get together for a drink soon, yeah, Jack?"

"Sure thing."

"Nice to meet you, Kate." He said, and with that, he was gone, as quickly as he appeared.

Jack laughed and shook his head. "Good old Mark." He said softly.

"He seems nice." Kate smiled.

"He's great." Jack agreed. "He was my best man, when I, you know, got married to Sarah." He said a little awkwardly. Somehow, he always felt strange when he rarely brought Sarah up around Kate, although she didn't seem to mind. She knew that his heart belonged to her now, and not to Sarah.

"Like they say, you've gotta be able to trust someone a lot to let them get up infront of all your friends and family at let them reveal all of your embarrasing moments." Kate said. "I was lucky, I never had that."

"No one embarrased you at your wedding?" Jack asked, sounding surprised.

She shook her head, reaching for another sandwich to pass to Aaron. "No, we had a really low key one, and he had a best man, but no one got up to embarrass me." She said.

"I'm sorry." Jack said softly, knowing that talking about her past was hard for her, but she shook her head with a smile.

"Are you kidding? I'm glad no one did. Anyone there who wanted to would have had a lot of material against me." She revealed and Jack laughed as well.

After they had eaten, Jack pushed Alana in a swing whilst Kate and Aaron raced around the park on the monkey bars and the slides and the climbing frame together. Kate was acting like just as much of a kid as Aaron was, and whenever he looked over at them, Jack couldn't stop himself smiling at the huge grins on their faces. When Alana fell asleep, he placed her back in the carrier, and went over to sit on a bench with her whilst he watched Aaron and Kate.

He didn't understand how they could have so much energy after all that swimming as well. He was shattered. He knew that he would sleep well tonight, and thankfully, it looked like Aaron and Kate would as well. Most of the time, Kate woke up a few times in the night, either because of dreams of because of the restless sleep pattern from the island that she still hadn't gotten out of, and sometimes, when it got really bad, she'd wake him up as well, for a hug that would make it all go away.

He loved seeing her like this though, so playful and carefree as she chased Aaron around the park, both of them shouting and laughing happily with each other. He wondered how long it would be until he could sit in the same place watching Kate running around with their own child. Judging from what he suspected, it wouldn't be long at all. She was so well suited for being a mother, but she jsut couldn't see it herself. Maybe this weekend was more useful than he thought.

* * *

The sun was setting when they finally went back to the car. Jack had gotten his energy back having sat on the bench watching them for hours, and Alana was awake again, but peaceful rather than grumpy. Aaron fell asleep in the back of the car almost straight away, and Kate's eyes were drooping as well now that she had finally sat still. As they pulled into the driveway, Kate went around to take Alana, whilst Jack went to pick up Aaron. The boy didn't even stir as Jack carried him up to the house.

Jack took him upstairs, and Kate went into the living room with Alana. When they got to the top of the stairs, Aaron stirred.

"Uncle Jack?" He murmered.

"Hey." He whispered.

"Tired."

"Let's get you ready for bed then shall we?" Jack suggested, and Aaron nodded.

It was hard getting a sleepy, sluggish Aaron into his pyjamas, but once that was done, Jack settled him in the bed, watching him curl up on his side. His blonde curls fell over his eyes, and Jack scooped them back whilst he got comfortable. He pulled the covers over him, and settled them.

"Sleep tight, Aaron." Jack whispered, stroking his head.

"Night, Jack, sleep tight, don't let the polar bears bite." Aaron said, copying the same thing that Charlie told him everynight. "Don't let the polar bears get Kate and 'Lana either." He mumbled sleepily.

"I won't." Jack said, and placed a kiss on the top of Aaron's head. "Goodnight."

Jack went downstairs, and saw that Alana was lying in Kate's arms on the couch, and Kate had her head leaned sideways, fast asleep. He smiled softly at the image before him, before leaning to take Alana out of her arms, and then carring the sleeping infant into their bedroom, laying her down to sleep. Then he went back downstairs, seeing that Kate was still asleep. Standing beside her, he placed one arm under her knees, and the other around her back, and lifted her easily into his arms. She didn't stir as he carried her upstairs as well, not until he got her into the bedroom.

"Jack?" She asked in that weak, tired voice.

"Yeah, it's me." He told her sweetly.

He sat her on the edge of the bed, and went to get her jogging bottoms and t-shirt that she slept in, clean of that morning's washing pile, and helped her into it, much like he had done with Aaron, only Kate was slightly more co-operative. When he was done, he lay her down in the bed, like Aaron, and then changed into his own bed clothes, before getting into bed beside her, welcoming the chance for an early night.

Kate cuddled up against him, her head resting on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. "Jack?" She asked sleepily. He always thought that she was so cute when she was tired.

"Yeah, baby?" He asked her.

"Last night, we said we'd have a baby." She hinted.

"Yeah?" Jack remembered, how could he forget? He placed a kiss on top of her head.

"I'm glad we said that." Kate mumbled. "I think I really want a baby."

Jack smiled, she always said the cutest little things when she was tired. "I really want one too." He told her, still smiling.

"Cause I love you, and I think we'd be really good parents." She continued on. "I had fun today." She said with a sigh.

"So did I." Jack said, kissing her one final time before her breathing became steadier again and she fell back into sleep. He smiled, and although he didn't feel tired, it didn't take long for him to follow her into sleep.


	5. Story Time

**Chapter 5: **

Jack woke up the next morning to the sound of a ringing phone right beside his ear. He groaned, turning on his side, all ready to ignore the ringing that was coming way too early in the morning for him, until he heard Alana stirring at the other side of the room. Not wanting her to wake up and start crying, he answered the phone, his voice still thick with sleep.

"Hello?"

"Hi Jack, it's me!" A voice said, all bright and bubbly.

He passed the phone over to a stirring Kate. "It's Claire." He said simply, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he went over and checked on Alana. The little girl stared up at him with wide, tired eyes, and he smiled, reaching his hand in and she grasped it whilst she yawned.

"Hey Claire." Kate said sleepily.

"You okay?" Claire asked. "You sound really...bleargh." She said and Kate let out a weak laugh.

"I'm just tired." Kate told her,sitting up in bed and looking over at Jack.

"Oh god, Aaron's not being a pain is he?" She asked worriedly.

"No, he's being an angel." Kate assured her. "The reason I'm tired is because it's 6am." Kate told her.

"Sorry!" Claire said. "I forgot about the time difference."

"Nevermind, we're up now." Kate said, "And I'm sure that hyperactive son of yours will be soon as well. How's London?"

"Well, thats the other reason I called." Claire said, and Kate knew straight away what had happened.

"He's asked you, hasn't he?" Kate realised

"Yeah." Claire said, clearly smiling on the other end of the phone.

"Oh my God!" Kate exclaimed, catching Jack's attention as she smiled down the phone. "Claire, that's fantastic! You said 'yes' right?" She checked quickly.

"Of course I said yes!" Claire almost screamed down the phone happily. "And there's something I wanted to ask you..."

"Go on..." Kate said.

"Will you be my Maid of Honour?"

Kate dropped her jaw, and Jack laughed at her. "Really? Me? Yours? Wow." Kate said slowly.

"Is that a yes?" Claire giggled.

"Of course its a yes!" Kate told her excitedly. Jack watched her curiously, wondering what she was getting so excited about.

"Good, because we're going to have the wedding at the end of the summer."

"That's like...a month away, Claire, that's pretty soon." Kate pointed out.

"I know, but we can't wait." She explained. "We're going dress shopping sometime next week."

Dress shopping? Kate forgot about the fact that she'll have to wear a dress - willingly. She doubted that she would be allowed to be dragged kicking and screaming into human company at Claire's wedding because she was wearing a dress.

When Kate hung up the phone ten minutes later, she let out a laugh again. Jack lifted the now wide awake Alana out of the travel cot and brought her back over to the bed with them.

"What are you so happy about?" He asked her playfully as he lay Alana down on the mattress between them, and he and Kate both lay on their sides looking at each other.

"Charlie and Claire are getting married." Kate said with a smile as she stroked Alana's head softly.

"What? He actually asked her?" Jack asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah." Kate said sweetly.

"He's been telling me that he was going to since we got rescued. I had a feeling that this surprise trip had something to do with it." He said with a soft laugh. "Now come on, something else has made this smile." He said, watching the smile on her face that simply wouldn't fade as Alana played with Kate's hand curiously, tracing every inch of it.

"Claire asked me to be her Maid of Honour." She revealed.

Jack grinned. "Does this mean I get to see you in a dress?" He asked.

"For one day only."

He laughed. "You and dresses." He muttered.

"They're just soo..." She tried to find the right word, and failed, so stuck with the easy one. "...girly."

"Kate, you look beautiful whatever you wear." Jack told her, leaning to give her a kiss. "Especially nothing." He added in with a wink.

"You just say that because you have to." She brushed off.

"I say it because its true." He corrected. "Besides, I want to be the one to take that dress off afterwards." He said cheekily.

Kate smiled and then propped her head up with her hand.

"You okay?" Jack asked her, a worried expression coming over his face.

"Yeah." She assured him. "Probably just still tired."

"You look pale." He noticed, putting his hand on her cheek, but she just smiled at him.

"I'm fine." She told him with a gentle laugh. "Stop worrying about me-" She stopped, and suddenly got a curious look on her face.

"What?" He asked her.

"Ssshh!" She said, putting a finger to her lips and they both remained quiet for a few minutes. "Do you hear that?" She asked eventually.

Jack strained his ears, but heard nothing. "No, what am I meant to be hearing?" He asked.

"Come on." Kate said, crawling out of bed in her pyjamas, and going out into the hall. Jack followed with Alana held agianst his chest. He followed Kate, seeing that she had stopped outside of the room next to theirs, where Aaron was sleeping. "Can you hear it now?" She asked him in a whisper.

Jack listened again, and found that he could hear something now, a kind of muffled crying from the other side of the door.

"Is that Aaron crying?" He asked quietly, his eyebrows knitting together worriedly.

"It must be." Kate shrugged, and opened the door. "Aaron?" She asked quietly, going into the bedroom, and Jack followed suit.

There, curled in a ball on the bed with his back to them, was Aaron, his face buried in the pillow muffling his cries. Kate looked absolutely heartbroken at the sight of him crying, and looked at Jack with a concerned look before going slowly over to his side. She sat on the edge of the bed, placing a hand on his back.

"Aaron?" She said softly. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" She asked him. He rolled over on his back and looked up at Kate. She gave him a smile. "Come here." She said, and opened her arms to him. He sat up, and fell into her arms. "What's the matter, Aaron?" She asked him again.

"Had a bad dream." He cried against her. "Woke up and Mommy not here."

"Oh, Aaron." Kate said, gently rubbing his back. "It's okay. I know Mommy's not here, but we're here." She reminded him. "You should have come and woken us up."

"Couldn't go outside. Monster would get me." He said, holding tighter onto Kate.

She had to smile at the innocence, especially as Aaron was born on an island where monsters really did exist, and he knew that all too well.

"Honey, there's no monsters here." She assured him, seeing that Jack was taking a seat on the other side of the bed.

"They were in my dream." Aaron explained. "They were coming to take me away."

"Hey." Jack said, putting a hand on Aaron's head, and the little boy looked up at him with watery eyes like he was some kind of hero. "No monsters are gonna take you away while we're here." He promised him.

Aaron sniffed. "Promise?"

"I promise." Jack smiled. "You tell me if any monster comes into your dreams again and I'll hit them with a big stick." He vowed, which made Aaron giggle a little through his tears.

"I miss Mommy." Aaron said sadly.

"She'll be home tomorrow." Kate reminded him. "With lots of presents for you."

"Presents?" He asked.

"Yeah," Jack told him, putting on an excited voice. "When people go on holidays, they bring back lots of presents for people."

"And Mom and Dad will bring presents back for me?" He said, pointing at himself.

"Lots of them." Jack nodded.

"And for you two as well?"

"I hope so." Kate grinned. Aaron yawned, and Kate smiled, glad that even though his tear-stained cheeks were shining, he wasn't crying anymore. "It's early still, Aaron, why don't you go back to sleep?" She suggested. "Don't worry, there won't be any monsters."

"'K." He said, and Jack stood with the baby, ruffling Aaron's hair as he did so. "Aunty Kate?" He asked, as Kate made to stand.

"Yeah, honey?"

"Will you tell me a story?"

Kate went to say something but stopped, and then changed. "I can't tell stories." She revealed.

Jack placed a hand on her shoulder from behind her, squeezing it gently. "Sure you can. Just read him a book...it's easy." He told her with a confident smile.

"No!" Aaron protested, hearing him. "Make one up!"

"About what?" Kate laughed.

"Tell me a story 'bout you and Jack." Aaron said.

Jack laughed, and Kate grinned nervously. Oh yes, they definately had some stories between them. Jack's hand stayed on her shoulder, and then Alana started to get fussy.

"I'm going to go feed her." He announced, and leaned down to kiss Kate. "Have fun with your story." He said, almost teasingly.

"Which one shall I tell him?" Kate asked him.

"How about the one with the night in the caves?"

Kate flushed furiously, and Jack grinned, getting the reaction that he wanted from her. Oh yes, that was a memorable night. Even though they weren't officially together through their time on the island, there were nights, such as that one, where they gave into the temptations and spend a night together.

"I think he's a bit young to here that one." Kate covered up. "I think Claire might kill me for telling him that. It will warp his mind." She said with a laugh. "Think of one that doesn't the absense of clothing."

"Hmm...what about the one with the hike to the Black Rock?"

"Are you sure?" She asked, remembering what happened when they went to the Black Rock.

"On second thoughts..." He said, remembering Arzt. "Maybe not."

"It's not really a story about us, either." She added in.

"I've got it!" Jack announced suddenly, after a few minutes of deep thought. "The cave in." Alana started fussing even more, getting hungrier, and Jack bounced her a little. "Right, I'm off." He said. "Have fun with your story."

As Jack disappeared, Kate turned back on the bed to Aaron. "Wanna hear about the cave in?" She asked him, and he nodded excitedly.

Kate told him the story about their first week on the island, where they went to fix the transiever to triangulate Rousseau's distress call. She told how Jack had been in the caves with Charlie, and that there was a cave in, and Jack was trapped inside, which made Aaron gasp. She started to remember a lot about that day. That was the first day that she really could remember feeling something special for Jack. Maybe it was the overwhelming relief from panic and fear when he walked towards her. She had never been happier to see him alive. It was like...nothing she could describe. She remembered that the same night, she had a nightmare that he had not made it out of the caves, and that he would become the third person they lost to the island after Joanna and the Marshal.

She lay down beside Aaron halfway into her story, and he curled up beside her. She continued on telling him how the rescue operation with Charlie failed, and that they soon both got trapped in there, but that Charlie was the one who saved the day by finding another way out.

"So my Daddy's a hero too?" Aaron asked, through a wide yawn.

"Sure is, little man." Kate told him. "He brought my Jack back to me."

"Daddy says that you and Jack are made for each other." Aaron recited. "What does that mean?"

"Well, when two people love each other very much, they might meet in a strange way, like a plane crash, and some people think that fate brought them together." Kate explained. "Like your Mom and Dad. They were brought together by the crash, and they fell in love."

"Thats good." Aaron said sleepily. "'Cause I want my Mom and Dad to be made for each other too."

"They are." Kate nodded. "They definately are."

"Nuh-night, Aunty Kate." Aaron said as he started to drift back off into sleep.

When Jack came back into the bedroom after feeding and burbing Alana, he opened the door quietly, going over to the bed. Alana was back sleeping in her cot, and he leaned in the doorway to Aaron's temporary room where he watched Aaron and Kate with a soft smile on his face. Both of them were alseep, Aaron cuddling himself up against Kate whilst he slept. The image before him was so sweet, that he snuck downstairs to get their new digital camera, and took a few sneaky pictures without either of them stirring, and then went over to them. He leaned down, kissing Kate softly on the forehead, and she let out a happy sigh in her sleep, and he smiled, knowing that this was another night where Kate's mind wasn't filled with nightmares.


	6. Suspicions

**Chapter 6: **

When Kate awoke several hours later, she saw that it was 8.15am. She knew that she wasn't in her bed, and looked around to see that she was in the spare room where Aaron was sleeping, and rememebered getting up for him after Claire had called and telling him about the cave in. She smiled at how nice it felt to have that undivided attention from a child, and especially loved the smile on Aaron's sleepy face when she told him that Charlie was a hero and she realised that if he hadn't been so brave that day, she really would have lost Jack forever.

She sat up slowly, realising that Aaron was no longer asleep beside her. He must have gone downstairs to find Jack. As soon as she had swept her legs over the side of the bed and began to stand up, a wave of nausea hit her, forcing her to sit back down on the bed. Unlike these usual waves, this one didn't pass so quickly, and she realised that this was something more than standing up too quickly.

She started to feel sick and even dizzier and she closed her eyes, sliding down onto the floor with her head was between her legs and taking deep breaths like Jack had told her to do once before. She remembered that from the day that she had a random attack of nausea after recovering from the flue when they returned from Sydney. Jack had come home from meeting Sayid and Charlie and found Kate sitting at the kitchen table, pale as a sheet. Nausea scared her a little. She never liked it because she wasn't sure whether she was going to throw up, pass out, or whether the feeling would just pass altogether.

This time, however, it passed, and she was left sitting by the side of the bed. Shaking her head slowly, she stood up and walked over to the door.

Once she got downstairs, confused at the sudden nausea spell, she saw that Aaron was sitting on the couch watching television, and Alana was in her playpen surrounded by toys as she entertained herself. Smelling toast, she went into the kitchen where Jack was cooking breakfast. She went over to him, putting her arms around his waist and kissing the back of his neck.

"Morning." She said, letting loose a small yawn.

"Hey, babe." He said, turning away from the toast he was buttering for Aaron and giving her a hug. She relaxed against him weakly, letting out a sigh. "What's the matter?" He asked her, sensing that something was wrong. "You okay?"

"Yeah...I am now." She told him, pulling back a little to smile up at him.

"What happened?" He asked, putting his hand on her cheek. "You're really pale."

"I think I stood up too quickly." She said simply. "I just felt really nauseous." She explained, and Jack frowned.

"You should have called me." He reminded her.

"I couldn't." She shrugged.

Jack sighed and hugged her again. "How do you feel now?" He asked her.

"Okay." She said.

Jack knew what Kate's okay meant, and it was as lot different from the doctor version and the lover version that he saw for her. He frowned a little in concern. "Kate?" He pressed a little and she sighed. "One second." He said, and took the toast into the next room to Aaron whilst Kate sat down at the table. Aaron's breakfast garaunteed them a while to be able to talk. Going back into the kitchen, he sat down in the chair next to her. "What is it?" He asked, picking up her hand in his.

"It's probably just something stupid." She shrugged.

"It doesn't matter, I want to hear it anyway." He said stubbornly.

"Well, it's kinda complicated." She explained.

"How so?"

"Kinda...a girl...thing..." She said with an awkward expression on her face.

Jack nodded slowly. "The same girl thing where Claire rushes round with emergency chocolate and you have a truckload of aspirin?" Jack asked her, and she nodded, still not meeting his gaze properly. "Kate, I'm a doctor, you can talk to me about these things, you know." He reminded her with a gentle smile.

"I know, but you're Jack." She said as if that explained everything.

"Is it really that bad?" He asked her raising an eyebrow.

"Well, it's not really bad...well, it might be...cause I don't know...but...oh, Hell..." She rambled.

"Hey, hey." Jack said soothingly, and placed a hand under her chin so that she would meet his eyes. "C'mon, you can tell me." He said. "Just because I'm a guy, it doesn't mean that I don't know about these things." He said with a gentle laugh.

She laughed softly as well. "I know, but its just a girl thing, y'know? Even on the island it was a girl thing...we stuck together through it."

He nodded, remembering the days when he would beg to help one of the girls on the harder days when they were in pain, but they wouldn't let him, insisting that they were fine. They were all as bad as Kate for stubborness at that time of the month. Kate's stubborness, however, increased tenfold, which no one thought possible.

She sighed, and gave in, after all her rambling. "You know_...that_ day...?" She asked, and he nodded.

"What about it?"

"Well, that day isn't here yet." She revealed, and looked away from him.

"Is it supposed to be?" He checked, before jumping to any conclusions. After all, he was a doctor, he was used to collecting all the facts before making a diagnosis. She didn't answer, but he could tell that she was counting in her head. "Kate?" He asked, when she appeared to have finished.

"Yeah." She nodded. "It was supposed to be here on Tuesday."

Tuesday...it was Sunday now.

Kate was biting her lip nervously. Jack remained silent, and nodded slowly. "Right.."Was all he said, and then he stood up. "Come with me. I think I know why." He said, hinting with a soft smile. She took his hand, letting him lead her from the room and upstairs, noticing how he checked on the kids before they did so.

When they got into the bedroom, Jack didn't bother to close the door behind them so that they could still hear what was going on downstairs. He walked them over infront of the mirror, and stood behind Kate.

"Jack? What are we doing?" She asked, confusion written all over her face.

He looked at her reflection over her shoulders, and put his hands on her hips. "Can you see it?" He asked.

She looked long and hard at herself. "Jack, what is it that I'm meant to be seeing?" She asked him.

"Can you see anything different?" He asked her again, and she shook her head.

"No...Jack, what's the matter?" She asked him, getting worried now. She looked over her shoulder at him with a creased brow, watching the concentration on his face. "Jack?"

"Yesterday in the pool...I saw it." He muttered to himself.

"Saw what?" Kate asked, intruding on his thoughts.

Jack's fingers moved down to the hemline of her t-shirt, and raised it so that it was over her hips now, revealing her stomach.

"Jack?" She asked again.

"Look." He told her softly, his breath hitting her ear lightly.

She returned her gaze to the mirror reflection. Whatever Jack was showing her, she thought that she could see it as well, but she didn't know exactly what she was seeing.

"I look...different." She realised slowly. "But I still don't get what this is about."

Jack's hands lowered over her bare stomach, carressing it lightly. "I noticed this yesterday." He told her. His hand traced around her hips as well. "Your stomach and hips are fuller." He told her quietly, and whilst she was curious as to what he was talking about, she was also enjoying his gentle touch against her skin. "Give me your hand." He said, and she held it out to him. He took it, and placed it over her lower stomach. Together, he pressed both of their hands down gently, and he nodded. "Your uterus is firmer as well." He murmered.

"What does that mean?" Kate asked, almost worriedly.

"Considering that you've had nausea and you're late as well. It means that about here..." He started, bringing their hands over her stomach again and holding them in place. "...There's going to be a heartbeat."

A heartbeat?

That meant...

"Jack?" She asked him, hope in her voice, but also a little fear. "Are you sure?"

He nodded against her. "There's only one way to find out." He commented. "I can get you a test this afternoon, if you want?"

She nodded slowly. Suddenly, it started sinking in. A heartbeat...that meant something was there. Something...someone...a baby...her baby...Jack's baby...their baby...

"Jack?" She asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Is this real?" She asked, holding their hands against her stomach. Now that he had said something, she could feel it there. Or maybe that was just her maternal feelings...maybe they appeared as soon as she knew...

"It could be." He confirmed. "Like I said...there's only one way to find out."

She nodded again, and leaned back against his chest whilst his hands moved from her stomach to wrap around her waist. "This is kinda scary." She admitted. "I mean, I know that we talked about trying...but that was two days ago." She pointed out. "I never knew that I was already...you know."

"Yeah." Jack agreed quietly. "I guess that you had a genuine reason for feeling broody." He said with a gentle laugh that caught onto her.

"Guess so." She agreed.

"So now you're admitting that you were broody." He said with a soft laugh. Noticing her quietness, he kissed her cheek from where he stood behind her. "You okay?" He asked her.

She gave him a soft smile. "Yeah...just...thinking." She told him.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

She bit her lip again. "Jack, do you really think we can do this?" She asked him.

He smiled as he turned her in his arms, keeping his arms locked around her so that he still had a hold on her. Smiling down at her, she gave him a weak smile back, but he could see in her eyes the doubt in her eyes that was natural. "Kate.." He said softly, leaning to give her a chaste kiss before pulling back. "I love you, more than anything this world has to offer me, and more." He reminded her, getting a proper smile from her. "I don't just think we can do this...I know we can. Has this weekend proved nothing? You're going to be a great Mom, Kate, and tonight, we're going to be able to give the kids back to Claire...unharmed, happy, and with no rooms in our house damaged. Hell, they might even be able to say that they've had a good time here." He said.

Kate laughed gently and looked at Jack like she was explaining something like a rabbit running away. "Jack...Alana can't say anything, babe. She's three months old."

Jack stopped what he was about to say and blinked. "Oh yeah." He realised. "But you know what I mean."

"Do you ever get the feeling that they went away just to prove a point to us?" She asked him.

"All the time." He nodded. "But then again...they're doing something for me out there."

"What's that?" She asked curiously.

"Just a little shopping." He told her innocently.

She tilted her head sideways. "Shopping?"

"Something that I couldn't seem to find over here...so I booked it, and Charlie's picking it up for me." He told her. "It's for you, a present, and that's all I'm going to tell you." He said leaning in close to her.

"Spoil sport." She pouted.

"Trust me, it will be worth the wait." He said, and kissed her. "Come on, let's get back to the kids." He said, and hand in hand, they went back downstairs. All the while, Kate knew that the pregnancy test was going to be positive.

* * *

A/N: There's only going to be a couple more chapters to this...but if everyone wants to see it, I'm going to do a sequal, just with the storylines reversed, set after this story, focusing on Jack and Kate on thier weekend away. What do you think? Cause there's only so long I can stretch a weekend out for lol 


	7. Adventures Ahead of Us

Kate was sitting on the living room floor playing with Alana, who lay on her back happily whilst Kate played with her and her toys. Aaron was sitting in the kitchen with Jack eating his dinner.

Charlie and Claire were due back any minute now to collect that pair, and whilst Kate entertained Alana, she had to admit that she was going to miss them. Even though she had been hesitant about this weekend, and she knew that without a doubt she would see the kids at least three times this week, she had enjoyed playing moms and dads, as it were, for the weekend.

Alana giggled as Kate gently prodded the end of her nose again, something that was making her wild with laughter every time Kate did it because of the noises she was making as well. Kate had a big grin on her face, but for more reason than one. Leaning back with laughter against the couch which propped her up, she smiled at the baby before her, and out of the corner of her eye saw Jack standing in the kitchen doorway watching them.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to stare?" She teased as she turned to face him, smiling broadly.

"I'm not staring." He said, as he crossed the room, still with his soft smile plastered across his face. "I'm admiring."

As he came over, Kate inched forward, and Jack lowered himself in the gap behind Kate, leaneing up against the couch as she had done. She leaned back against him once Alana was satisfied to play with her toy, and Jack's hands came to settle on her stomach, holding her to him as well as giving him a chance to gently rub her stomach with her thumbs.

"She's three months old now." Jack mused. "In a year's time...we could be sat doing the exact same thing."

Kate smiled at the idea. Ever since the pregnancy test had turned out positive a few hours ago, neither of them had been able to stop smiling. Jack was almost convinced that he was the happiest he had ever been in his life when he had found out that it was certain. It gave him a jolt of excitement in his stomach, the same one that he had experienced when Kate had first told him that she loved him.

"It's a scary idea..." Kate realised. "But somehow...I'm not nearly as worried as I thought I would be."

"That's because you've got no reason to be." He assured her, kissing the side of her neck gently.

"Not with you around, I haven't." She smiled.

"I'm glad." He whispered, still caressing her stomach, which made Kate giggle.

"You're not going to stop doing that for months, are you?" She realised.

"Hell no." Jack said. "If this is the closest I'm going to get to my baby for eight months then I'm going to be this close for eight months."

Kate smiled. "Thanks, Jack." She whispered.

"My pleasure." He told her.

The door knocked, and Jack stood up whilst Aaron's call came from the kitchen, where he abadoned the dinner and raced Jack to the door.

"Mommy's home! Daddy's home!" He chanted over and over again, Kate watched him, wondering whether her child would be that excited to see her when she got home at all. She liked to think so. She could imagine Jack racing their child to the door, a beautiful little girl with long curly hair like hers, but Jack's brown eyes that brough her to her knees every time.

Alana gave a little sound, and Kate leaned down to her, and said. "He's right, honey, Mommy and Daddy are home."

She watched as Jack opened the door and Charlie and Claire came into the house, closing the door behind them. Aaron launched himself at his parents, and Alana looked around to see what all the commotion was, giggling when she saw Charlie approaching her.

"Hello, angel." He said, scooping her up into his arms, and Kate climbed to her feet as well, noting that Jack was on hand to help her up. All afternoon, ever since their suspicion on the pregnancy, he had been watching her like she was about to break, wanting to be on hand every second worrying about her. She smiled, knowing that she had absolutely nothing to be worried about.

* * *

A while later they were all in the kitchen, except for Aaron who was engrossed in the television once again. Jack made coffees and handed them around, but handed Kate a hot chocolate instead, and she raised an eyebrow at him, and he wordlessly reminded her that she had to take it easy with the coffee now. Alana was now balanced happily back in Claire's arms, but one of her hands was extended over the table whilst Kate admired the engagement ring that Charlie had given her.

"It's gorgeous!" Kate said, trying not to squeal with excitement but failing miserably. Her best friend getting married was just too much to contain. "God, I'm so happy for you both." She said, grinning at Claire and then at Charlie.

"I would say it was a nice surprise, but I knew it was going to happen." Jack laughed to himself.

"Speaking of being in the know, I've got your delivery out in the hall." Charlie reminded Jack, and Jack thanked him.

"So, when do I get to find out what it is?" Kate asked curiously, and by looking at Jack completely missed the exchanged winks between Charlie and Claire. She hadn't noticed them bringing in anything large that Jack couldn't have got at a shop.

"I haven't decided yet." Jack told her with a secretive smile. "When the time is right, I guess."

"Well, we've had amazing timing this weekend." Kate laughed, and Jack nodded in agreement with her.

"Oh?" Claire asked curiously, noticing the intense and passionate look that Jack and Kate shared.

Charlie leaned over to Claire. "I think the plan to make Kate broody worked." He muttered, loud enough for the others to hear.

"You could say that." Jack smiled, looking very pleased with himself.

"I guess you could, yeah." Kate agreed. They shared a playful look over their mugs and suddenly broke into a soft laughter.

"Oh my God!" Claire gasped as she realised. "Seriously?"

Kate nodded.

"For real?"

"Yeah."

"When?"

"This afternoon."

"Before then?"

"No."

"Not a clue?"

"Jack suggested the idea." Kate said.

Charlie looked at Jack wildly, after watching the exchange between Kate and Claire, not having a clue what they were talking about. "I take it you understand what she's saying."

Jack nodded. "She's saying that she found out she was pregnant this afternoon, but didn't know before then, and that I suggested the idea that she might be." He explained.

"Oh..." Charlie said, and then the news actually sunk in. "Wait...you're pregnant?" He said to Kate, who nodded almost eagerly, an excited smile on her lips. "I'm going to be an uncle?" He asked hopefully.

They laughed, and Jack nodded. "Yeah, you're gonna be an uncle." He said.

Claire went over and hugged Kate with one arm whilst still holding Alana. "I told you this weekend would be good for you." She said proudly, whilst Charlie remained seated for a moment testing out the name 'Uncle Charlie' under his breath, clearly just as excited as they were.

"You were right." Kate nodded.

"Oh, Kate, congratulations, honey, I'm so pleased for you both."

"Thanks." She smiled.

Charlie grinned stupidly, and clapped Jack on the shoulder. "Can I be there when you tell Sawyer, please?" He asked. "He's going to be gutted."

"I don't care if he's gutted or whether he jumps off the nearest bridge." Jack said. "He should know by now that Kate's with me."

"I think you'll be surprised on that one." Claire said. "I think he'll be really happy for you. He loves being Uncle Sawyer to Aaron and Alana...you're basically just giving him a new friend."

"But I'm going to enjoy being Daddy more." Jack smiled.

"So..." Claire began. "A wedding and a baby on the way. We've got some adventures ahead of us guys."

"We'd better get started then." Kate said, smiling at Jack and then turning to Claire. "So, what colour is this bridesmaid dress I've got to wear?"

* * *

A/N: Sorry to say this, but the next chapter will be the last one :( But before you all complain at me for ending it so soon, there will, I repeat, WILL be a sequal that I will post soon. Laura, if I haven't posted it up by the 1st August, I want you to do the jaby eyes, stomp, scream and shout until I do it. 


	8. Rhiannon

Hey guys! Thank you all, and this is the final chapter of A Broody Weekend...but for all of those who are going to mentally slap me for saying that, I'll let you know that I'm going to start on the sequal very soon, and it will definately be up within the next few weeks. If it isn't...EternalConfusion, you know what to do.

* * *

True to what they decided, the two couples did have many adventures ahead of them. Charlie and Claire married two months later, which Jack as the best man, with Sawyer and Hurley as fellow ushers, and Kate as the maid of honour, along with Libby and Sun as the bridesmaids. Aaron was the ringbearer, much to thier delight, and Sun held on to Alana through the service.

Kate wore a beautiful cream silk dress that showed off her growing stomach, but, as she requested, didn't make her look fat. Contrary to what her hormones made her believe at the time, Jack didn't think she looked fat. In fact, as he caught her eye across the church, and she smiled at him, he wondered if he had ever seen her looking so beauitful. She was glowing from the pregnancy, a happiness radiating from her, and her swelling stomach that told him that their child was already growing made him feel so proud to look at her.

At this point, Jack had still not revealed his gift for Kate. She asked him everyday what it was, and he told her that it wasn't time yet. It was almost like a tradition for her to ask him every morning, and every morning he would say the same thing. She would ask him when, and he told her that she would know soon.

When Charlie and Claire headed off on their honeymoon, Jack and Kate found themselves looking after the children once again, only this time for a week. They had originally planned to have a fortnight away in Hawaii, but they hadn't wanted to spend that long away from the children. Kate and Jack welcomed the week with Aaron and Alana, knowing that they needed all the experience they could get for preparing for their own baby.

Kate wasn't hit as badly by morning sickness as she imagined she might be, much to her delight, and still went out with Claire and Sun as she did before. She came home from going out with Claire for the day five months into her pregnancy to find that Jack had spent the whole day fitting the baby's room beside their bedroom. She had cried when she first looked at the crib, and the mobile above it, with the blankets already set up inside which they had brought when shopping the week before, but she told herself that this was the hormone's fault.

Then, when she hit eight months into her pregnancy, she started to become more tired than she already was, and spent a lot of her time laying on the couch reading, or watching movies until Jack came home from work. Most days, she had to force him to go to work, because he wanted to be there in case she went into labour when he wasn't there. When she was two weeks before her due date, she began to worry about the same thing, and most of the time Claire or Sun would come around for the day.

Her due date came, and just as it had come, it went, with no appearence from the baby in sight. By now, Kate was dropping off to sleep at night wondering when she would be woken up by that dreaded pain of a contraction. Her hospital bag had been packed and had been waiting by the door for three weeks now, and hadn't even been moved. Jack checked it nearly every day to make sure that they hadn't missed anything out, but never needed to add anything other than the first time that they had checked it.

Another week went, with both of them on edge. Sometimes, they would both sit together, their hands resting on her stomach, feeling their baby moving within, and wondering whether or not it would happen then.

On the Saturday following that, Kate knew that it would be the day. She had told Jack the day before, and the day before that, that it would be the day, but it hadn't been. Today, though, she just knew. There was something different today. She had woken up bright eyed and bushy tailed, rather than begging for sleep to take her once again. Jack wasn't working, but had gone with Charlie into town for a few things when Claire stayed with Kate. Aaron and Alana were at Claire's parents house for the day.

Ten minutes after Jack and Charlie had gone, Kate had doubled over in pain. The contractions had finally come, and Claire had rung the ambulance before the second contraction had hit. Then she rang Jack, who had known why Claire was calling straight away, and had arranged to meet them at the hospital. The panic started setting in whilst he heard Kate groaning against the contraction in the background of the phonecall.

The ambulance had come quickly, and the bag was picked up, and they were on their way to the hospital. But when they had reached the hospital, Jack and Charlie weren't there.

They went down the corridors, but Jack and Charlie weren't there.

They went into the delivery rooms, but Jack wasn't there.

Kate started to panic as they prepared her for delivery, and Jack wasn't there.

He had to be there.

He said he would be.

He wanted to be.

He promised.

Claire stayed at her side the whole time whilst they waited, and once a particularly painful contraction hit her, Kate's head rolled back on the bed, looking up at Claire with tear filled eyes from the pain.

"Claire, it hurts." She murmured.

"I know it hurts, sweetie," Claire coached, wiping her hair back from her forehead whilst she held onto Kate's hand. "But it will all be over soon."

"Where's Jack?" Kate asked, without looking around.

"He's on his way," She assured her. "Charlie's bringing him now."

Kate shook her head, the tears falling down her cheeks. "I can't do this without him, Claire."

"I know." Claire nodded.

"He said he'd be here."

"He'll be here."

"He wanted to be here."

"Kate, he's coming."

"Claire-" She stopped midsentence as another contraction hit her.

"It's okay, Kate, it'll pass." She wasn't aware of Claire coaching here, but it helped that she had someone there. How the roles had changed since Kate had delivered Aaron in the jungle...

"God, that hurts." Kate moaned afterwards.

"At least you've got painkillers, sweetie." Claire reminded her.

Kate managed a smile, and at that moment, the doors burst open.

"Claire! Kate!" Charlie announced.

"Kate!" Jack said, and went over to Kate's side as Claire stepped back to Charlie.

"Where were you?" Claire hissed.

"Traffic!" Charlie explained.

"How are you?" Jack asked Kate, picking up her hand and kissing her.

"It hurts, Jack." She whimpered, repeating what she had told Claire only moments before.

"I know." He nodded, gripping her hand tightly as she prepared herself for another contraction. "Don't you worry, tough, everything's going to be okay."

Kate nodded, and the midwife looked up at them. "Okay, Kate, when you feel the next contraction, you can start pushing."

What little colour was left in Kate's face was drained quickly.

"Looks like I got here just in time." Jack observed, but his smile dropped when he saw the terrified expression on Kate's face. The fear hadn't been there for the pregnancy, but now their baby was almost here, it was finally kicking in. "Hey, it's okay." He assured her. "Don't be scared, I love you, Kate."

Kate wanted to tell him that she loved him, but couldn't do anything other than cry out as the contraction hit her. She vaugely heard the midwives telling her to push, and she could hear Jack and Claire coaching her from beside her, and Jack whispered her words of comfort into her ear until she collapsed back on the pillows and the contraction passed.

"Ouch." She whimpered wearily.

"It's almost over, Katie." Jack whispered, kissing her sweat-glazed forehead. "Not long now, honey."

"Okay, Kate, start pushing again."

She started to push again, wanting the whole experience to be over so that she could see her baby.

"We've got a head." The head midwife announced.

"You hear that, Kate?" Jack said excitedly to her, but she didn't reply.

"And we've got a baby girl." The midwife announced as the baby took its first breath.

Exhausted, Kate collapsed back on the bed, breathing heavily. Jack leaned over her, smiling broadly. "You did it, Katie." He said brightly. "You did it."

She smiled up at him through her tiredness. "Yeah...yeah, I did." She realised, and it started to sink in. She could hear the baby crying. Their baby. She was a mother. They were parents.

"How do you feel?" Jack asked her stroking her hair back again from her face.

"It hurts." She told him, but smiled still. "And I'm tired...but I feel fantastic."

Grinning still, Jack leaned down and they kissed, having to break the kiss when Kate's curiosity got the better of her.

"What did we have?" She asked, having been to overwhelmed to hear the midwife announce it.

"A little girl." He said softly.

"Really?" She smiled.

Jack nodded. "Yeah."

"I bet she's beautiful." Kate whispered dreamily.

"She will be." Jack assured her, kissing her again as the midwives came over.

"Time for baby to meet her parents." The midwife said sweetly as she placed the bundle of blankets carefully into Kate's arms.

Kate and Jack smiled down at their baby. "Oh my god..." Kate whispered breathlessly. "Jack...look at her...she's so tiny."

"She's so perfect." Jack said, stroking her cheek.

"She's so tiny..." Kate repeated. "And she's ours..."

"Our baby girl." Jack grinned.

"I told you we'd have a girl." She reminded him, thinking back to all those months ago when she had told him that they would have a girl, before they even knew that she was pregnant.

"You were right. She's beautiful...a beautiful, adorable, sweet little girl...damnit..."

His last expression made her laugh a little. "What?"

"She's already got me wrapped around her finger." Jack realised, shaking his head slowly, and Kate agreed with him. "I'm never going to let this little one go." He said, kissing the baby's forehead.

"Don't worry, she's not growing up just yet." Kate reminded him, knowing that they couldn't wait to see their baby growing up, but at the same time, didn't want that time to pass too quickly.

"I've never seen anything so amazing." He said, still gazing down adoringly at their new baby daughter.

Kate laughed. "I feel really broody right now." She admitted.

"Well, now you get to put it into practice." He said, and kissed her temple. "Thank you, Kate, I love you."

"I love you too." She said, kissing him back. "What are we going to call her?"

"Something pretty..." Jack said vaugely. "But I don't think anything's as pretty as she is."

Kate smiled, she didn't think so either, but she cocked her head to one side, as her baby daughter stopped crying and took hold of her finger. "Rhiannon's pretty." She announced with a nod. "Let's call her Rhiannon."

Jack smiled, and nodded. "I love it. Rhiannon Katherine Shepherd."

"Katherine?" Kate asked.

Jack shrugged. "She looks like you, and it suits her." He said.

She shook her head with a smile, but didn't argue with him. It did suit her. Their baby was finally here with them. Rhiannon Katherine Shepherd. Their daughter. Kate remembered all of the pain that she had taken to bring this child into the world, and then realised that every second was worth it, for this, for their baby, for their family.

* * *

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story!

Kathleen212, Danielle, HelaluvE, Kcdancer, Mugglecastlover31, Twinmuse, CindyCurl, Orlando-crazy, Jimmy-barnes-13, Midnight-sk8r, 1LostFan, Hug-me, Wanda, Hyperhotty, TVslave, Ella Jullian, Spiral Static, Nikki-da-latina, Lolohannah, Vands88, Liz-jater, Ikot-ikot, Lostobsessivefreak, Ilovethisstory, Katy, Lostlover514, Englishchik, ReginaTrudeau, Hilsfoolishginger, Kate, DerangedHedge, Whitestone1623, MissFantabulous, LLFOREVER, Pinkstar1409, Guava Seeds, Shortymae, Hersheygal, Son of Adam

And of course, a HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to EternalConfusion, who helped me all through this fic, from random cute moments to lots of badgering to update!


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